Gaming/Work PC Build: p45 or p43? get new x25 model? socket 775?

[toms_hammer]

Going for a reliable, value gaming PC, so I picked older pieces with lots of newegg reviews: socket 775 motherboard/CPU + DDR2 RAM over an i5 or i7 build.
Thanks for any help. The questions are at the bottom. My main concerns are getting RAM that works without having to change any BIOS settings (“plug and play” RAM), and whether or not I should wait for out of stock pieces.
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CPU
$195 e8500 3.16ghz dual core CPU Model:BX80570E8500
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036&cm_re=e8500-_-19-115-036-_-Product
I think dual over quad, because faster cores and less power/heat.
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MOTHERBOARD
$90 GA-EP45-UD3L (“OUT OF STOCK”)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128372&Tpk=GA-EP45-UD3L
or
$80 GA-EP43-UD3L
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128380&Tpk=GA-EP43-UD3L
I choose gigabyte over asus, because it seems more reliable and better performing. The first mobo has a p45 chipset, which is suppsedly a little better for overclocking.
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RAM
$105 g.skill 2x2gb DDR2 800 F2-6400CL4D-4GBPI-B, 450 newegg reviews, 5star avg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209
or
$90 g.skill 2x2gb DDR2 800 F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ, 2400 newegg reviews, 5star avg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122
The $105 RAM seems to be newer, has listed timings of 4-4-4-12, and has 1 reviewer saying he used it with GA-EP43-UD3L, the older P43 version of the motherboard I want.
The $90 RAM has listed timings of 5-5-5-15 and has 2 reviewers saying they used it with GA- EP45-UD3L, the motherboard I want but is out of stock.
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HARD DRIVE, PRIMARY
$220 Intel X25-M SSDSA2M080G2XX (“OUT OF STOCK”, this is item N82E16820167027)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167016&cm_re=x25m-_-20-167-016-_-Product
or
$230 Intel X25-M SSDSA2M080G2XXX (newegg note: “Discontinued, replaced by N82E16820167027”)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167027&cm_re=x25m-_-20-167-027-_-Product
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HARD DRIVE FOR STORAGE
$110 Western Digital 1.5TB Caviar Black Model:WD1501FASS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136592&Tpk=caviar%20black%201.5tb
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VIDEO CARD
$190 Radeon HD 4890 Model:HD-489X-ZSFC (“OUT OF STOCK”)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150438&cm_re=4890-_-14-150-438-_-Product
Or $200+ Radeon HD 5830?
Or $160+ Radeon HD 5770?
Toms hardware charts FPS charts show 4890 performing equally with 5830. I choose 4890 because it may be more reliable. Some bad recent reviews for the 5830s on newegg. 4890 and 5830 performed better than 5770.
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POWER SUPPLY
$110 Corsair 750W PSU Model:CMPSU-750TX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006&Tpk=corsair%20750
I'd like the 750W over 650W just to be safe with these monster video cards that use a lot of energy.
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CPU COOLER:
$35 Xigmatek HDT-S1283 CPU fan/heatsink
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003&cm_re=xigmatek_1283-_-35-233-003-_-Product
Not planning to overclock. I just want to be safe.
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CASE:
$60 Cooler Master 690 Mid Tower ATX case Model:RC-690-KKN1-GP
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137&cm_re=cm_690-_-11-119-137-_-Product
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OPERATING SYSTEM
XP 32 bit
or
Win 7 64 bit?

Total, with first choice for each, excluding OS price, is $1115.
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Questions:
1. A GA-EP43-UD3L motherboard reviewer said he used F2-6400CL4D-4GBPI-B RAM with his build(which is why I want to get that RAM). Should the RAM also work for GA-EP45-UD3L(the P45 mobo I'd rather get)? Likewise, if a reviewer says such and such ram works for GA-EP45-UD3R or GA-EP45-UD3P, should it also work for GA-EP43-UD3L and GA-EP45-UD3L?

2. Should I wait for the P45 gigabyte motherboard, the newer X25M SSD, and the HD 4890 to be in stock, or go with the alternatives? Anyone know how long it will take them to come back in stock, or know of any website that tracks newegg item availability history? And which memory and OS should I get?

3. Why did newegg stop selling GA-EP45-UR3R and GA-EP45-UD3P motherboards? Those were a couple of their most popular boards.

4. Does anyone have a link for G.skill's RAM naming scheme?

5. Will 5-5-5-15 DDR2 800 ram be faster than 6-6-6-18 DDR2 1066 RAM? Will it be faster than 6-6-6-18 DDR3 1066 RAM?

6. Does anyone know the difference between the above 2 solid state disks? And does anyone know the difference in performance/features between the older SSDSA2MH080G2C1/ SSDSA2MH080G2R5 and the newer SSDSA2M080G2GC / SSDSA2M080G2GN?

8. These HD 4XXX and 5XXX video cards say they require at least a 500W PSU. Should I go with an 850W PSU to be safe or is 750 fine? Using only 1 video card. Using 2 hard drives: 1 traditional and 1 intel SSD.

9. Why I haven't been able to find sites with graphs showing XP performing better than 7? After googling “win 7 vs xp”, the sites from the first two pages of google have graphs showing win 7 performing about equal with xp, but a good amount of commenters at the bottom say things like xp is better than 7 in every way. (e.g. http://www.maximumpc.com/article/reviews/windows_7_review ) If that's true, how come I didn't find any sites with graphs showing XP performing significantly better?

10. It seems like newegg offers weekly discounts and combo deals on their items that don't sell so well. Would it not make them more money to offer deals on items that do sell well?

11. How high could this build be overclocked? What about with 1066 RAM? And with what FSB speeds? Or is it better to keep the RAM timings low?

12. Does anyone know a good place I can get a new $300 - $500 laptop that has win XP installed instead of 7 or vista? Or if I already own a copy of XP, can I install it on any new laptop? Would anyone recommend ebay for buying a used laptop?

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been moved from the section Applications to section Systems by Mousemonkey

 

[asteldian]

I really have to stand against buying an old system - you are saving nothing by buying old tech.

i5 750 plus XFX 650W PSU - $260
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215&cm_re=i5_750-_-19-115-215-_-Product

G Skill 4gb 1600mhz RAM $103
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231321&cm_re=g_skill_ddr3_1600-_-20-231-321-_-Product

amsung Spinpoint 1Tb - $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&cm_re=samsung_spinpoint_f3-_-22-152-185-_-Product

Antec 300 case - $60 with only $3 shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042&cm_re=antec_300-_-11-129-042-_-Product

GTX 460 1gb - $250
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261076

Asus P7P55D-E Pro - $160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131621&cm_re=asus_p7p55d_e_pro-_-13-131-621-_-Product

Zalman CPU cooler - $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118059&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3899435&SID=skim1402X558040

Total:$947

The GPU picked is an overclocked GTX460 which will perform close to the ATI 5850. You can go for non overclocked which costs about $230, or you can go for a 768mb version (which is a bit better than the 5830 and therefore better than your 4890) at about $199.99 before rebates. TO be honest, the one I linked was a bit expensive, if you are interested in it, for only $20 more you can actualyl get a GTX470

The mobo gives you USB?SATA III and the ability to XFire/SLI
This build does not include a SSD. SSDs are a nice bonus, but for games it gives no extra performance, it just helps with load times. So, unless the kind of work you do REALLY needs that extra load time, I would spend the money on other parts. That said, even buying the expensive mobo you are already $168 less than original build, so that is a good pile of cash to put for an SSD. If the SSD is that important you could sacrifice some game performance by going with the 768mb version of the GTX460. Or, save the money and get the SSD a bit later - when prices drop which they are supposed to.

Ultimately, the point of this build was to show that going old is not beneficial.

I went for a 650W PSU because it is high quality, in a combo and as you are not OCing it should deal with 2 x GTX 460s if you went for it. If you only go with a single card solution a 650W will always be more than enough.


An alternative board could be the MSI P55 GD65 for $150 after rebate, the beauty of this board is the OCGenie which can OVerclock the system for you, it does a very good job at it and is great if you are not comfortable doing it yourself.
If you want more power, you could go with the Corsair 750W for $90 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006&cm_re=corsair_750w-_-17-139-006-_-Product

and get this combo deal for the i5 760 and the Rosewill case - $243
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.461644

oeverall this would cost another $10 but give you more power and a better CPU

 

[Griffolion]

Regardless of you going for old generation parts for some strange reason, choosing dual over quad core for gaming is a faux pas. More and more games are starting to thread to multiple cores now so duals are getting tired very quickly regardless of the higher clock speeds per core.

You need to go back and reconsider your build. As Asteldian said, you are doing yourself no favours by going for old generation parts. If you're after value then maybe go for and AMD AM3 based build. For Intel you're going to be looking at I5 Quad.

 

[jsc]

Either AMD or Intel, but buy new tech.